by Vikki Vaught
Henry stared directly into his eyes. “You’ve only known each other for a very short time. How can you be so sure you’ll suit?”
“We’ve seen each other twice a day for the last fortnight, and we’ve agreed that we’ll suit each other very well. You’d be surprised how well you can get to know someone when you know beforehand that you want to see how compatible you are.”
Giving Matthew an appraising look, Henry replied, “I would want to know more about you before I give you my approval.”
“I can appreciate that. I just inherited my title from my father last year, so I’m now the eighth Earl of Collingswood. To give you a little more background on me, I spend most of my time in Devonshire, which is where my family seat is.”
Henry interrupted, “While Helen likes the country, she also enjoys the season every year in London. It sounds as if you don’t usually come for the season, and I know she would miss it if she wasn’t able to come to London each year.”
“I understand Helen enjoys the season, and once she’s given me an heir, I shan’t have a problem with her participating each year. While I haven’t taken my seat in Parliament yet, I plan to do so just as soon as I have my estate running smoothly.”
“Why do you need to get your estate running smoothly? Please explain this to me. I still feel this is rushing things a bit. I will need more time to investigate your background.”
Even though this started to get Matthew riled, he kept his calm demeanor. “I can understand that you want more information about me. During the last few years of my father’s life, he let things run down a bit, and even though I tried to help him, he wouldn’t accept my help. My father was very set in his ways. While I’m not a wealthy man, I can comfortably afford to take care of your sister and any children we may have.”
“I’m sure you would make an acceptable husband, but I still feel this is terribly fast. Why do you want to marry my sister?”
Though it was difficult, Matthew continued to remain calm, even though he wasn’t used to being questioned so thoroughly. “I’m the father of twin daughters, and my late wife passed away giving birth to them five years ago. I need a mother for my children, and I feel that Helen would be an excellent one for them, and she has assured me she adores children. She’s shared with me that she’s anxious to marry because she wants to have children, so we’ve decided we would suit each other.”
“While I understand your desire to have a mother for your children, I want Helen to be wanted for herself, not just as a mother for someone’s children.”
“I do want her for more than just a mother for my children. We’ve become friends, and I esteem her greatly. We would like to marry next month, once I have completed my mourning period. Do I have your permission to pay my addresses?”
Henry leaned back in his chair and gave Matthew an assessing look. “I’d rather see her give this more time before she makes a decision of this magnitude. I want Helen to be sure she’s making the right decision, and I don’t feel that knowing each other for two weeks will do that. I won’t contemplate a match without additional time to get to know you. I’d want to verify everything you’ve told me before I’ll give you my blessing.”
Matthew adjusted his cravat, which suddenly felt too tight, as he tried to keep his impatience hidden. “Helen and I have discussed this, and while we understand your concern, our minds are made up. I really just came here as a courtesy to you. We’re going to marry regardless of your feelings. Helen is of age and doesn’t need your permission to marry.”
Henry stood up so forcefully that his chair flew back several feet and hit the wall. He looked Matthew directly in the eye, and with an arrogant expression on his face retorted, “You will not marry my sister without my permission!”
Standing up, but still remaining calm, Matthew said, “We will marry with or without your permission. I promise I’ll take good care of Helen, and she’ll be content with our marriage. We both want the same thing. She wants to be a mother, and I need a mother for my daughters, and of course an heir. We respect each other tremendously, and we have much in common. Helen told me she’d spoken with you recently and assured you she didn’t want a love match, but companionship instead. I’m willing to offer this to her. I ask you for Helen’s sake—please give us your blessing. This is very important to her.”
“Well, when you put it like that, I don’t have much choice but to give you my blessing,” Henry replied, taking a step forward to glare at him. “You just need to know that if you ever hurt her in any way at all, I’ll come after you, and you’ll regret you were ever born. Do I make myself clear? Oh, and I’ll be verifying the information you just gave me. Helen is an heiress, and I will stop this marriage if I feel that you’re a fortune hunter!”
Matthew adjusted the sleeve of his dark green riding coat to give himself a moment to get his anger under control, and then he glared back at him with his own arrogant expression as he declared, “There’s no reason for you to threaten me. I understand you completely, Your Grace. I am not a fortune hunter, and you’ll find that out when you check me out!” Matthew took a deep cleansing breath, giving himself time to keep his composure. “If you will give me some paper, I’ll give you the name of my solicitor. He’ll give you all the information you need, and he’ll handle the marriage settlements.”
“You can count on me to check you out thoroughly and not with just your solicitor’s information!” With a supercilious expression on his face, Henry handed Matthew some paper and a quill, and Matthew wrote out the information and handed it back to Henry.
“I promise, I’ll never hurt your sister, Your Grace,” Matthew said, trying to alleviate the tension in the room. “She’ll be my wife, and I’ll always show her the respect and consideration she deserves. While I don’t love Helen, I respect and admire her tremendously. I promise you, we’re well suited for each other. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave. I promised Helen I would be back in time to take her to the opera. I look forward to hearing from you through my solicitor.” Matthew bowed to him, and then he turned and left the room.
The trip back went much better because the rain had stopped, and the sun had come out. When he got back to town, he went to his hotel and took a bath so he would be ready to take Helen to the opera. While he was in his bath, he replayed his conversation with Helen’s brother over in his mind. He’d had to reel in his temper to keep himself from lashing out at her brother.
While he could understand why Sanderford had reacted the way he did, he didn’t appreciate the fact that he’d threatened him. While he may not love Helen, he admired her prodigiously. At least he knew when Sanderford had him investigated, as he so politely put it, he would find out that Matthew was telling him the truth.
Leaning back in the tub, he allowed his mind to drift to Helen. He became aroused just thinking about her. Helen exuded an inner fire that spoke of passion, so he knew he would enjoy having her in his bed, and in his life.
Yes, he felt they would definitely be very compatible.
That afternoon, Helen spent quite a bit of time getting ready. She had Sally draw her a bath, and she washed her hair. She used fresh lemons to rinse it so that the gold highlights would shine. Madame Devy had sent over her new gown, and it was simply beautiful. It was aquamarine with an underskirt of deep rose, and it was a striking combination.
Her parents had given her a beautiful strand of matched pearls when she was seventeen, so she decided she would wear them. Once she was dressed, she went down to the drawing room to wait for Matthew to arrive. She felt a shiver of anticipation when she thought about seeing him again.
Matthew arrived promptly at seven o’clock, and Bradford showed him to the drawing room. The green of his eyes was dark and intense, and she could tell he wasn’t happy about something. She hoped it didn’t have anything to do with his visit to her brother.
Helen met Matthew’s gaze as she asked, “How did your meeting go with my brother? While he isn’t intimidating
to me, I know he can be that way with others. I hope he didn’t give you too difficult a time. Did he give us his blessing?”
“Your brother was arrogant and tried to be very intimidating, but he did give us his blessing. Of course, he threatened me with my life, if I ever hurt you in anyway, as he so politely put it. At one point, I think he contemplated coming to blows when I told him we would marry even if he didn’t give us his blessing.”
Helen looked at him with astonishment in her lovely blue eyes. “Oh Matthew, you didn’t really tell him that! No wonder you made him mad. Henry doesn’t like ultimatums, so I’m sure he did want to hit you. He has always been an overprotective brother, so I’m not surprised that he would threaten you. I hope you at least reassured him that you wouldn’t hurt me. If I thought for even a minute that you would, then there would be no way I would consider marrying you.”
“I made sure he understood I would protect you and keep you safe. But he made sure that I knew he would have me checked out thoroughly.”
“I’m sure that once Henry does that, he’ll calm down and accept my decision to marry you. Now, when do we want to get married?”
After Helen took a seat, Matthew sat down beside her and took her hand. “I thought we could marry the end of June. I’ll be out of mourning by then, and I don’t see any reason to put it off any longer than that. I need to get back to Christina and Catherine. Will that give you enough time to plan a wedding?”
“I see no reason to put it off either,” Helen replied, looking down at Matthew’s hand and realizing it felt nice holding hands with him. “The thirtieth of June will do well for both of us and will still give me enough time to plan a small wedding. I’d like to get married at St. Nicolas, the parish church in Cranleigh. I’ve always dreamed of being married there. If that is acceptable to you, I’ll go down to Sanderford Park the day after tomorrow and get everything ready. I’ll also talk with my brother and reassure him that this is truly what I want.”
Oh Lord, she could just see Henry now.
He was probably livid over what Matthew had said.
“That will be fine with me. Whatever will make you happy. The only person I would like to invite is Bradley Fox. I’ve been friends with him since my school days. His uncle is Viscount Harrington, and Bradley’s his heir. He’s in town so he won’t have far to come.”
“Are you sure that there’s no one else you would like to invite?”
“My father was an only child and so was my mother, so I don’t have any family other than my brother and sister, and they’re still in school. Margaret is sixteen, and she attends Mrs. Manning’s School for young Ladies in Bath, and my brother Gregory is attending Cambridge, and he’s eighteen. He may want to attend, so I’ll let him know all the details and see if he wants to come down.”
“Are you sure you don’t want them there? I look forward to meeting both of them.”
Matthew shrugged. “Margaret is just too far away, but I’ll try to get Gregory to come. Helen, I want you to know that I’m very pleased that you’ve agreed to be my wife. I know we’ll be very compatible. I promise to take care of you and be your friend. Since we’re now officially engaged, I’d like to kiss you, all right?”
Helen nodded, and Matthew helped her stand up and gently kissed her. His lips felt warm and moist, and Helen felt heat run through her body, finding his kiss very tantalizing. It was a brief kiss, and she would have preferred him to kiss her with more passion. Of course, this wasn’t a love match, so maybe it would be better if he didn’t kiss her that way. When he stepped back, he smiled. “Shall we be off? My carriage awaits, my dear.”
When Helen and Matthew arrived at the Royal Opera House in Covent Gardens, they ran into Susan and her husband. “Good evening, Susan. Arthur.” Helen looked up at Matthew and said, “Lord Collingswood, this is Lord and Lady Hastings. Lady Hastings and I volunteer together at the orphanage.” She smiled at Susan and her husband as she added, “Please, let me introduce you to the Earl of Collingswood.”
Matthew shook hands with Lord Hastings. “It’s a pleasure to meet both of you.” Then he addressed Lady Hastings, “Lady Helen has mentioned you on several occasions. I know she values your friendship greatly.”
Helen spoke up. “Susan, I’ve agreed to marry Lord Collingswood, and we’re getting married on the thirtieth of June. I hope you’ll be one of my attendants. We’re getting married at St. Nicolas in Cranleigh. Please say you’ll come.”
Susan grinned and gave her a hug. “Oh Helen, I’d be honored. I hope you’ll be as happy as my husband and I have been. You never said a word to me, you sly thing! I had no idea you were even thinking about getting married. Have you picked out your colors for the wedding yet? I’m sure your mother is thrilled.”
“No, Susan, I haven’t picked out anything yet, and my mother doesn’t know about my engagement. Lord Collingswood just returned from speaking with Henry today. I’m going to Sanderford Park the day after tomorrow, and Melody and I will plan everything then. I’ll send word to you as soon as I make my plans.”
“I’ll be happy to help you. Just let me know what I can do.”
“Thank you, Susan. Well, we need to go to our box. The opera is getting ready to start. I’ll tell you more tomorrow, when we go to the orphanage. See you then.” Matthew and Helen turned and made their way to the ducal box they were using.
They had a pleasant evening at the opera, and when he returned her to Lady Helton’s, he tenderly kissed her lips. “I’m pleased you’ve agreed to be my wife. I know we’ll get along splendidly. I’ll take my leave now, and I’ll see on the twenty-ninth.” As she watched him leave, she wondered what it would be like if he did kiss her with passion.
Oh well, that wasn’t what she needed.
All she wanted was a nice, safe, unemotional marriage.
She would save her love for her children.
Chapter 5
Late May 1820
The next day, when Helen arrived at the orphanage, Susan rushed over to her and hugged her. “Helen, I can’t believe you’re getting married. You’ve only known Lord Collingswood for a couple of weeks. How in the world can you be in love with him this quickly? You told me you’d never fall in love again. I’m happy for you, but I must say I’m shocked.”
Helen hesitated before she spoke, wondering how much to say, but since Susan was really her closest friend, she decided to tell her everything. “Susan, it’s not a love match. You’re right. I don’t want to fall in love again. I’m marrying Matthew because I’m ready to be a mother, and I can’t do that without a husband. We’ve decided that we would suit, and since he already has children, I’ll be a mother right away. We actually have quite a bit in common, and I know I’ll be very content. Please, just be happy for me.”
Susan looked disappointed, but then she smiled. “I had hoped you would meet someone and fall in love. I know how hurt you were over the dastardly thing the Duke of Somerset did. I just wish you were in love with Lord Collingswood. Of course, he’s deliciously handsome, so I can always hope that love will grow between you. He seemed to be a very pleasant gentleman. Of course, I wish you happy.”
Helen was relieved that Susan had capitulated so quickly. She hoped she would get the same reaction from Melody, but she doubted it. “I promise you, this is what I want. He lives in Devonshire next to the sea, and I feel that I’ll love that, and we truly are very compatible.”
“That does sound fascinating. I’ve been to the sea with Arthur, and I found it quite exhilarating. I do wish you knew him a bit better.”
“I know that two weeks doesn’t seem like much time to get to know one another, but we saw each other two times a day, and since we had already decided to see if we would suit, we intently focused on whether we would be compatible. Now, help me decide on the colors for my wedding. It’s going to be small, and you and Kathryn will be my only attendants.”
As they played with the children, Susan and Helen discussed the wedding. Helen ended up choosing
ice blue and silver as her colors, and Susan gave her several additional suggestions for her wedding. As they were leaving, Susan promised to come down to Sanderford Park three days before the wedding to help with the final details.
Helen left for Sanderford Park the next day. She didn’t see Matthew before she left. Kathryn told Helen that she felt terrible about not going with her, but she couldn’t take time off from the Art Institute. She would come down with Aunt Miriam for the wedding and promised to get with Susan about their dresses for the wedding.
It was a peaceful drive, and Helen caught up on her reading. While she wasn’t the avid reader that Melody was, she still enjoyed a good book every now and then. Trepidation consumed Helen when she thought about seeing Henry and Melody, because she knew they weren’t going to be happy about her decision to marry without love. They had a love match, and she knew that was what they had wanted for her.
When Helen’s carriage pulled up under the portico, one of the footmen came down the stairs, lowered the steps for her, and helped her out of the carriage. Simpson was there to take her wrap. “It is good to see you, Lady Helen. The family is in the drawing room getting ready to have tea.”
“Thank you, Simpson. I’ll go right in.” As Helen approached the drawing room, she hesitated and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Then she went in and said, “Hello, everyone. It’s so good to see all of you. How are my precious nieces and nephews?”
Melody ran over to her and gave her a hug. “The children are as full of energy as ever, and Magnus is a delightful baby. He’s already sleeping through most of the night. Helen, it’s wonderful to see you. We received your note letting us know you were coming.”
“I’m glad all of you are well. Now, let’s discuss my wedding plans,” feeling it was better to get it all out in the open.
